Riot Act

"Riot Act" was a finalist in Temple's Short Fiction Contest, 2020.

So much so she remembers the child,
The boy who passed in police custody,
Sparking the blazes burning up the ward.
As stores and shops burst into flames,
Taking in the scene alarms the mother.
The firestorm crosses one after another block.
Neighbors in a hurry break the news;
They witness a boy clad in black,
Lost in the swirl of a swarm.
Patrols that pepper the lot bring tears.
The woman picks out her dear boy,
Smack in the middle of a lineup
With all the power invested in her,
She snaps and shakes her son home.

0

You might also like…

Poetry

Ethel Finds Money

Karen Heuler

My adopted sister Ethel sat opposite me at the dinner table, waiting for the food to arrive in the multicolored bowls Mom had gotten long ago, to cheer Ethel up and encourage her to eat. Ethel was ...  [+]

Poetry

motherese

Joel Shoemaker

The brand-new baby is screaming. In French.
In German.
No, in French. It's definitely in French.
It isn't obvious, at first. It's not like she's screaming for a Weiner schnitzel or demanding a ...  [+]

Poetry